What’s Cooking in the Kitchen?

With the kitchen becoming a home’s central meeting place, more homeowners are redesigning their old ones to accommodate the needs of their families.

“It’s where everybody congregates,” says Sue Pelley, the international spokeswoman for INTERIORS by Decorating Den based in Montgomery Village, Md.

Pelley suggests adding a breakfast bar with stools or a table and chairs in the kitchen, if there’s room, so that children can do their homework or play games while the cooking is going on.

Other trends in the kitchen include:

Granite countertops. Although other materials are slowing edging out granite, it’s still the most popular choice. “That is it,” says Pelley. “Granite is the big thing. It’s still what people really want. Corian countertops are really highly sought after as well.” While there are many choices for counter material, Pelley says many homeowners still like tile, although some of them are going for the larger ceramic sizes to minimize grout lines.

Decorative backsplashes. “What people are doing, on tile backsplashes, is using decorative tile to personalize it—you can get decorative tile, decorative accents, architectural shapes, raised surfaces—and they’re personalizing it in that vein,” she says.

Glass-front cabinets. “If you have some beautiful pieces, you can display them. That’s a today look,” Pelley says.

Stainless steel and white appliances. “They’re very neutral, very clean. Stainless steel can work with a lot of different design styles. It lends itself to contemporary kitchens, but clean lines and simplicity are always good,” she says. “They age well. It’s almost like everything old is new again. White kitchens are no different. Toasters, blenders… you look at them, they’re very retro. They’ve got a big look again.”

Turquoise and pink. “It’s any color pink. Pink is the hot shade. Bubblegum, raspberry pink, cherry pink… all those pinks are big. The other big shade is turquoise. Turquoise jewelry is hot and we’re starting to see that in fabric and wallpaper design. It’s just now starting but it will get huge.”

Round or oval tables. “They’re much more conducive for conversation. They don’t take up as much space. That’s a bit of a trend that’s continuing,” she says.

Hardwood floors. “What we still see is hardwood, more hardwood than tile. Some of the new things they’re doing with hardwood is laying it in octagonally and bordering it with deeper shade of wood to call attention to it, making it look like a wood area rug,” Pelley says. Ceramic tile and vinyl continue to be popular choices as well as a large selection of area rugs. “Because some of the kitchens are so big, people want to warm up the hardwood a bit and make a little softer.”

When redecorating a kitchen, Pelley says, it’s best to go for a more timeless look. We find most decorating styles go in eight to 10 year cycles,” she says. “Once everybody has it, it’s over. We don’t seem to want it anymore when everyone can have it. Creating a more timeless look is really prudent for your remodeling budget… unless you have the money to remodel every 10 years.”

This article was originally published by Diana Lundin on realtor.com. See it here.